Landlords will be prohibited from arbitrarily increasing rents under new legislation to be introduced today by the Government, it emerged last night.The wide-ranging Bill to reform the rented accommodation sector will impact on the rights of tens of thousands of tenants and landlords.
While obliging landlords to provide four years security of tenure if a tenancy lasts more than six months, it sets out a number of conditions in which a tenancies of less than four year's standing can be terminated.
The Bill says that rent reviews should be no more frequent than once a year.
Forbidding landlords from charging more than the open market rate for rent, the Bill defines the market rate is defined as "the rent that a willing tenant and a willing landlord would take for vacant possession".
The legislation will be published this morning by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen. Its provisions will apply to landlords and tenants even if there is no written tenancy agreement. It places an explicit requirement on landlords to maintain the structure and interior of a building to a standard that applied at the beginning of the letting. They will be obliged to carry out repairs and reimburse tenants for expenditure on repairs.
They will be also be obliged to insure the property, provide a point of contact, refund deposits, and ensure that tenants "can enjoy a peaceful and exclusive occupation".
In addition, they will be obliged to register all tenancies with a new State body - the Private Residential Tenancies Board - and lodge with it their Personal Public Service Number or company registration number.
Landlords will also be obliged to register the same details in respect of tenants with the board. Any landlord who fails to register a tenancy after a special 14-day registration notice is issued will be guilty of an offence.
The registration fee will be €70 per tenancy or a composite fee of €300 in respect of tenancies in a number of units in one building.
For their part, tenants will be obliged to remedy any disrepair. They will be forbidden from engaging in "anti-social behaviour", including violence, intimidation, harassment or breaking the law.